Joseph Lieberman
Joseph “Joe” Lieberman was born on February 24, 1942. He received a dual degree in political science and economics in 1964, as well as his law degree in 1967, from Yale University. He went to work for a New Haven law firm, before being elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 1970. He served there for the next 10 years, becoming Majority Leader in 1974.
Lieberman returned to private practice for two years, after losing a United States Cpongressional race. He returned to public office as Connecticut’s Attorney General from 1983 until 1988. His focus on consumer rights, strengthening child support enforcement and environmental regulation earned him popularity in the state. He turned that popularity into a winning run for the United States Senate in 1988.
As a Senator, Lieberman has co-sponsored the Clean Air Act and voted for various other environmental causes. He votes pro-choice and pro-union, and is against a constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage. He is currently Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as well as a member of the Federal Armed Services Committee.
Lieberman is a strong supporter of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the War on Terror and has a reputation as a “hawk,” but has never served in the military. He has also supported legislation ending affirmative action in 1995 and 1996, but told black voters in 2000 that he was in favor of affirmative action. He threatened to filibuster any attempt by Senate Democrats to pass a health care bill including the “public option” in 2009, but in a 2006 debate for Senate, he claimed to be working towards universal health care. He was also the co-sponsor of an amendment in 1995 that would kill the filibuster, saying at the time that the filibuster hurts the credibility of the entire Senate and impedes progress.
In 2000, Lieberman was tapped as the vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket alongside presidential nominee Al Gore. The two lost the election to Republicans George W. Bush and Richard Cheney in a controversial election that saw the Gore/Lieberman ticket win the popular vote, but lose the Electoral College vote. He subsequently ran for his Senate seat and won re-election, allowing him to return to the Washington.
Lieberman ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, leaving the race early after failing to make an impact in the primaries despite a great deal of early name recognition.
In 2006, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary for his Senate seat to anti-war businessman Ned Lamont. He chose to run as a third party candidate under the banner of the Connecticut for Lieberman ticket, stating that although he was a loyal Democrat, he had more work to do for the benefit of the state and nation. He gained both public and behind the scenes support of major Republican players when it became obvious that the Republican candidate, Alan Schlesinger, would not win due to reports about alleged gambling debts. Lieberman went on to win the three-way election by 49.7 percent. He struck a deal with Democrats that let him keep his seniority and his chairmanship of the Governmental Affairs Committee by promising to cooperate with them on procedural votes.
Despite saying in 2006 that he wanted to see a Democrat in the White House and back in the majority in Washington, he came out and very publicly supported 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin. He spoke on their behalf at the 2008 Republican National Convention and campaigned on their behalf across the country. He was high on the list for McCain’s running mate, but he was not chosen because it was felt some of his liberal views on social issues would not sit well with the majority of Republican voters. He was, however, being seriously considered for the position of Secretary of State had McCain won.
